Sanguine Bond MTG Card


Sanguine Bond excels in converting life gain to damage, creating substantial lead without extra cards. Works best with instant speed life gain, allowing tactical surprises during an opponent’s turn. Demands strategic deck building due to specific mana cost and potential for hand depletion.
Card setsReleased in 9 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost5
RarityRare
TypeEnchantment

Text of card

Whenever you gain life, target opponent loses that much life.

"Blood is constant. Every drop I drink, someone must bleed." —Vradeen, vampire nocturnus


Cards like Sanguine Bond

Sanguine Bond is a unique enchantment in Magic: The Gathering, establishing itself as a staple in life gain strategies. It shares a similar theme with cards such as Exquisite Blood, which also capitalizes on life total changes, creating a powerful combo that can potentially end games. Exquisite Blood, unlike Sanguine Bond, triggers on opponents’ life gain and loss, offering a wider range of opportunities for effect.

Defiant Bloodlord offers a creature-based approach to the same concept. Although it carries a higher mana cost than Sanguine Bond, it brings a sizable body to the battlefield, providing both an offensive and defensive advantage. Vizkopa Guildmage is another comparable card, though it requires activation and mana investment for a one-time effect per turn. The Guildmage, however, affords more control over when the life-draining ability occurs.

Assessing these options, Sanguine Bond’s passive yet potent ability to siphon life with each instance of life gain makes it a formidable card, especially when it comes to deck building that revolves around long-term strategies and synergy in Magic: The Gathering.

Exquisite Blood - MTG Card versions
Defiant Bloodlord - MTG Card versions
Vizkopa Guildmage - MTG Card versions
Exquisite Blood - MTG Card versions
Defiant Bloodlord - MTG Card versions
Vizkopa Guildmage - MTG Card versions

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Horror of Horrors - MTG Card versions
Worms of the Earth - MTG Card versions
Forbidden Crypt - MTG Card versions
Death Pits of Rath - MTG Card versions
Handcuffs - MTG Card versions
Discordant Dirge - MTG Card versions
Subversion - MTG Card versions
Larceny - MTG Card versions
Conspiracy - MTG Card versions
Putrefaction - MTG Card versions
Unnatural Hunger - MTG Card versions
Spreading Plague - MTG Card versions
Traveling Plague - MTG Card versions
Screams of the Damned - MTG Card versions
Dawn of the Dead - MTG Card versions
Gravebreaker Lamia - MTG Card versions
Doomwake Giant - MTG Card versions
Clutch of Undeath - MTG Card versions
Call to the Grave - MTG Card versions
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Decks using this card

MTG decks using Sanguine Bond. Dig deeper into the strategy of decks, sideboard cards, list ideas and export to play in ARENA or MOL.

#NameFormatArchetypeEvent
Abzan ComboAbzan Combo GladiatorSword and Sandals Showdown: EMEA Week 13 2024

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Sanguine Bond can be a cornerstone in a deck that focuses on maintaining a healthy life total. Each instance of life gain turns into potential damage to an opponent, and this can quickly add up to a substantial lead in a game, reinforcing your position without the need for additional cards.

Resource Acceleration: Although it doesn’t directly produce mana, Sanguine Bond accelerates your resource potential by effectively harnessing your life gain as a weapon. This can allow decks that naturally accumulate life to double down on their strategy, using their existing resources more effectively.

Instant Speed: While Sanguine Bond itself is an enchantment that is played at sorcery speed, it synergizes well with instant speed life gain spells. This allows you to surprise opponents with unexpected damage during their turn, potentially disrupting their strategy and forcing them to react on your terms.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Once Sanguine Bond is on the field, it does not require a discard, yet its setup might have you sacrificing other key cards. Ensuring it becomes active can cause you to deplete your hand, leaving you vulnerable to your opponent’s strategies.

Specific Mana Cost: This enchantment asks for a combination of three generic and two black mana, which can be restrictive. Building your mana base around this requirement may lead to a less diverse deck, potentially making your overall game plan more predictable and easier to disrupt.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a total casting cost of five mana, it can be considered slow when compared to other enchantments or spells that could have more immediate board impact. This can sometimes leave players at a disadvantage, especially in fast-paced games where establishing early board presence is crucial.


Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Sanguine Bond can be a dynamic addition to a variety of decks, particularly those focused on life gain and control strategies. Its ability to deal damage equal to the life you gain makes it adaptable to numerous situations on the battlefield.

Combo Potential: This card is renowned for its synergy with cards that allow you to gain life repeatedly, such as “Exquisite Blood,” creating a loop that can potentially end the game. It’s a cornerstone in decks built around life-related triggers.

Meta-Relevance: Given its capacity to swing games with significant life point shifts, Sanguine Bond remains relevant in metas where life gain decks are prevalent or in playgroups where longer, more interactive games are the norm, making it a valuable asset for many players.


How to beat Sanguine Bond

Sanguine Bond is a formidable enchantment in Magic: The Gathering that can turn the tide of a game by causing loss of life to an opponent whenever you gain life. This effect creates a significant threat, especially in decks designed to consistently gain life. Understanding how to dismantle this strategy is crucial for any player facing off against Sanguine Bond.

To counter this card, consider employing enchantment removal spells which are ubiquitous across various MTG sets. Cards like Disenchant or Naturalize offer an efficient solution to Sanguine Bond by removing it directly from the battlefield. It’s also wise to preempt this threat by applying pressure early in the game to limit your opponent’s ability to establish their life-gain combo. Another avenue is to utilize counterspells to prevent Sanguine Bond from hitting the field in the first place. A balanced approach, combining disruption with a strong offensive strategy, often proves effective against decks relying on Sanguine Bond to secure victory.

In summary, beating Sanguine Bond involves a mix of direct removal, early pressure, and strategic counterspelling, positioning you well to combat this life-draining enchantment and push towards a win.


BurnMana Recommendations

Mastering the art of MTG means understanding how to leverage each card’s strengths while mitigating its weaknesses. Sanguine Bond is a fascinating card with a potential for immense impact in the right deck. With our expert insights, you can discover how to optimize your deck around Sanguine Bond’s life-draining ability and explore combos that can turn the course of the game in your favor. But knowledge doesn’t stop with just one card. We invite you to deepen your understanding of the game, explore new deck-building strategies, and find out how to effectively counter your opponents’ moves. Learn more with us and add layers of depth to your MTG gameplay.


Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Sanguine Bond MTG card by a specific set like Magic 2010 and Magic 2014, there are several reliable options to consider. One of the primary sources is your local game store, where you can often find booster packs, individual cards, and preconstructed decks from current and some past sets. They often offer the added benefit of a community where you can trade with other players.

For a broader inventory, particularly of older sets, online marketplaces like TCGPlayer, Card Kingdom and Card Market offer extensive selections and allow you to search for cards from specific sets. Larger e-commerce platforms like eBay and Amazon also have listings from various sellers, which can be a good place to look for sealed product and rare finds.

Additionally, Magic’s official site often has a store locator and retailer lists for finding Wizards of the Coast licensed products. Remember to check for authenticity and the condition of the cards when purchasing, especially from individual sellers on larger marketplaces.

Below is a list of some store websites where you can buy the Sanguine Bond and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Sanguine Bond Magic the Gathering card was released in 9 different sets between 2009-07-17 and 2023-09-08. Illustrated by 3 different artists.

#ReleasedNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12009-07-17Magic 2010M10 1112003NormalBlackJaime Jones
22013-07-19Magic 2014M14 1122003NormalBlackJaime Jones
32013-11-01Commander 2013C13 922003NormalBlackJaime Jones
42017-08-25Commander 2017C17 1242015NormalBlackJaime Jones
52017-11-17Iconic MastersIMA 1072015NormalBlackJaime Jones
62021-03-19Time Spiral RemasteredTSR 3301997NormalBlackJaime Jones
72021-04-23Commander 2021C21 1532015NormalBlackJaime Jones
82023-06-23Tales of Middle-earth CommanderLTC 2082015NormalBlackJoseph Meehan
92023-09-08Wilds of Eldraine: Enchanting TalesWOT 352015NormalBorderlessHarry Conway

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Sanguine Bond has restrictions

FormatLegality
HistoricbrawlLegal
HistoricLegal
LegacyLegal
OathbreakerLegal
GladiatorLegal
PioneerLegal
CommanderLegal
ModernLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
ExplorerLegal
PredhLegal
PennyLegal
TimelessLegal

Rules and information

The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Sanguine Bond card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.

Date Text
2009-10-01 Sanguine Bond's ability triggers just once for each life-gaining event, whether it's 1 life from Soul Warden or 8 life from Tendrils of Corruption.
2021-03-19 Each creature with lifelink dealing combat damage causes a separate life-gaining event. For example, if two creatures you control with lifelink deal combat damage at the same time, Sanguine Bond's ability will trigger twice and you may choose a different opponent for each trigger. However, if a single creature you control with lifelink deals combat damage to multiple creatures, players, and/or planeswalkers at the same time (perhaps because it has trample or was blocked by more than one creature), the ability will trigger only once.
2021-03-19 If an ability triggers whenever an opponent loses life and causes you to gain life, such as the ability of Exquisite Blood, this will loop until either you win the game or a player takes an action to break the loop. If neither of these happen, the game ends in a draw.
2021-03-19 If you gain an amount of life "for each" of something, that life is gained as one event and Sanguine Bond's ability triggers only once.